Key case



5 p; 2, 1941. s. b. SCHELL 8 KEY CASEY Filed July 9 1940 Patented Sept.2, 1941 UNITED STATES" PATENT OFFICE 1 KEY CASE Samuel Duvall Schell,Washington, D. 0.

Application July 9, 1940, Serial No. 344,573

3 Claims.

This invention relates to key cases and, more particularly, to a caseadapted to enclose a plurality of keys and to maintain them in adefinite and individually identifiable relationship.

It is one of the primary objects of my invention to provide a key casehaving a plurality of key suspending elements, arranged in spacedrelationship, and an indicia-bearing member, associated with the keysuspending elements in such manner that identification is provided foreach of the keys suspended from the key suspending elements.

Another important object of my invention is to provide a key case havingkey suspending and identifying means which can be manufactured frominexpensive materials with a minimum of machining operations and? which,therefore, readily lends itself to quantity production at low cost.

Another object of my invention is to provide key-identifying means for akey case which is so arranged and positioned that it does not increasethe bulkiness or over-all dimensions of the key case, and in which thekey-identifying means for each individual key is readily visible uponopening the case.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be in part obvious andin part pointed out in the following description of the preferredembodiment of the invention. In this description, reference is made tothe accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure l is a plan view, showing the key case open and showing portionsof some of the keysuspending elements broken away;

Figure 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of the rigid plate whichsupports the key-suspending elements and the key-identifying means;

Figure 3 is a sectional view, looking in the direction of the arrowsalong the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the frame which receives and supportsthe indicia-bearing member; and

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the indiciabearing member.

In the drawing, the reference numeral 6 designates the body portion ofthe key case, preferably constructed of flexible material such asleather, and provided with foldable flaps l and 8 at the sides thereof.The flaps l and 8 are adapted to be folded over the main portion andsecured together by any convenient means such as a resilient head 9 anda socket in.

portion 6, there is secured a plate Ii, preferably constructed of a.sheet of rigid metal. The upper edge of the plate H is shown as securedto the body portion 6' by means of rivets 82. As is best shown inFigures 2 and 3, spaced areas of the plate ii are struck upwardly fromthe plane of the plate and are slotted to form sockets for receiving andretaining key suspending elements. These sockets may be formed by astamping operation using properly shaped dies to form. the upwardlystruck portions i3 and It with the metal intermediate these two portionsbeing entirely severed from the plate ii to form the slot 55. The sloti5 is provided with a circular enlargement just below the upper endthereof as indicated by the reference numeral it. A portion of the sloti 5 will, therefore, extend above the enlargement it, this portion ofthe slot being designated by the reference numeral Wu. The slot is alsoprovided with a circular enlargement i? at the lower end thereof whichis of somewhat smaller diameter than the circular enlargement i6.'

The sockets formed by the upwardly struck areas it and it are designedto receive and retain stirrup-like key-suspending elements, designatedgenerally by the reference numeral 38. The key-suspending element itincludes a middle portion it which is bent to form a key-receiving loop2b. The ends of the key-suspending elements it are arranged in adjacentparallel relationship to form a narrow shank 26 which is adapted to passthrough the enlarged lower end ll of the slot id. The ends ofthekey-suspending element it are provided with hemisphericalenlargements 22 and 23, which are of sufficient size to prevent theirpassage through the lower enlargement ll of the slot IE, but to permittheir being withdrawn by slight force through the upper enlargement itof the slot i5. It will be understood that a key-suspending element itmay be lifted upwardly through an angle of approximately degrees fromthe position in which it is shown in Figures 2 and 3, and theenlargements 22 and 23 withdrawn through the enlarged opening I6 nearthe upper end of the slot IS. The ends of the key-suspending element 58may then be forced apart due to the inherent resiliency of the metalfrom which the keysuspending element is formed and a key may be placedwithin the loop 20. The key-suspending element is may then be replacedin the socket by merely reversing the procedure above described forremoving the key-suspending ele- Near the upper end of the inside of thebody 55 ment. In the normal use of the key case, a key may be graspedand the key case suspended therefrom as when a key is inserted in itslock. In this event, the key-suspending element I8 will be turnedthrough an angle of 180 degrees and the shank 2| of the key-suspendingelement will be received by the extreme upper end l5a of the slot l5.There will thus be no likelihood of the hemispherical enlargements 22and 23 on the key-suspending element being unintentionally withdrawnthrough the circularenlargement l6.

'Although I have shown the key case as being provided with six socketsand key-suspending elements, it will be understood that any convenientnumber may be provided. Since the sockets and key-suspending elementsare all identical, it is believed that a description of one suchassembly is suiiicient to an understanding of this feature of theinvention.

Secured to the plate immediately below and in parallel relationship tothe horizontal row of sockets for receiving the key-suspendingelements,I provide a frame which is designated by the reference numeral 24 andwhich is clearly g shown in perspective in Figure 4. The frame 24 ispreferably formed by stamping a flat rectang-ular strip of sheet metal.

thereof struck upwardly from the plane of the base to form the raisedportion 26 which is provided with a plurality of openings designated bythe reference numerals 21. There is thus provided a recess or space ofrectangular shape behindthe raised portion 26 of the frame. The openings21 are equal in number to the sockets for receiving the key-suspendingelements and are in similarly spaced relationship so that an opening 21underlies each socket.

The. rectangular recess or space behind the raised portion 26 of theframe 24 is adapted to receive a suitable indicia bearing member such asthat shown in Figure 5 and designated by the reference numeral 26. Theindicia bearing mem-' ber 28 may be of good quality cardboard or anyother material capable of receiving written or printed key identifyingcharacters or. information. At one end of the frame 24 a portion 29 ofthe base projects upwardly toward the end ofthe raised portion 26 whichis designated by the reference numeral, 30. Just suflicient spaceis-left between the portion 26 and 30 topermit the insertion oftheindicia-bearing member 28 and to permit its intentional withdrawal,without, however, allowing the indicia-bearing member 26 tounintentionally escape from the recess. At the opposite end of the frame24, a portion of the base 25, designated by the reference numeral 3|extends upwardly and into contact with that portion of the end of theraised portion 26 which is designated by the reference numeral 32. Theportions 3| and 32 thus cooperate to prevent escape of theindicia-bearing member 28 from this end ofthe frame 24.

The frame 24 may be secured to the plate I by any convenient means suchas rivets 33, 34 and 35. If desired, these'rivets may extend not onlythrough the base 25 and the plate II, but also through the body portion6 of the case.

This frame consists of a base 25 having the rectangular center portionIn Figure 1, I have shown in dotted lines a key 36 secured to one of thekey-suspending elements. It will be noted that the openings in the loops26 of the key-suspending elements I! immediately overlie openings 21 inthe frame 24 and that identifying information on the indicia-bearingmember 26 is clearly visible. By this arrangement. the identifyinginformation for each individual key is immediately visible upon openingof the key case, and shifting or manipulation of the keys ll madeunnecessary.

It will be readily apparent that the plate may have the sockets forreceiving the key-suspending elements formed therein in a singlestamping operation and that the entire frame 24 .may also be formed in asingle stamping operation. It is then only necessary to assemble thebody portion 6 of the case, the plate II and the frame 24, an'dtoinsert'the key-suspending ele-' ment l8 within the socket in the plateIL. Inexpensive materials may be used for forming the various parts ofthe key case and the case, therefore, readily lends itself to quantityproduction at lowcost. a

Having thus described my invention, I claim: 1. A key case comprising arigid plate provided with a plurality of spaced socket forming defor-'mations, a plurality of key-suspending means disposed in horizontalalignment mounted in said socket forming deformations on said plate,aframe having a plurality of openings therein secured to said plate insuch manner that an opening in said frame lies adjacent to each of saidkey-suspending means, a recess between said plate and said frame, and anindicia bearing member in said recess adapted to expose indicia througheachof said openings for identifying'the key on the adjacentkey-suspending means.

2. A key case comprising a plate, a plurality of key-suspending elementshinged to said plate in horizontal alignment, a frame having a pluralityof openings therein secured to said plate below said key-suspendingelements. in such position that an opening in said frame lies adjacentto each of said key-suspending elements, a recess between said frame andsaid plate, and an indicia bearing member in said recess adapted toexpose indicia through each of said openings for identifying the key onthe adjacent key suspending element.

3. A key case comprising a rigid plate, a plurality of slotted socketsin spaced relationship intermediate the edges of said plate, a keysuspending loop having an enlargement at one end thereof secured in eachof .said slotted sockets, a frame having a plurality of openings thereinsecured to said plate in such manner that an opening in said frame liesadjacent to each of said sockets and underlies each of saidkey-suspending loops, a recess between said frame and said plate, and anindicia bearing paper strip in said recess adapted to expose indiciathrough each of said openings in said frame and through each of saidkey-suspending loops for identifying the key suspended therefrom.

' SAMUEL DUVALL SCHELL.

